Ruslana Korshunova is a jumper

[w8ng4msrgt]

Supermodel jumps to her death in Manhattan
Posted on Sun, Jun. 29, 2008

A gorgeous supermodel fell from her swank downtown apartment to her death Saturday in an apparent suicide, officials said.

Ruslana Korshunova, 20, whose face graced the cover of French Elle and Russian Vogue, apparently jumped from her ninth-floor apartment in her Water Street building in the Financial District at 2:30 p.m.

''I heard what sounded like a gunshot or a bomb or an explosion,'' said a stunned Con Ed worker talking to a cop nearby.

'I looked down the street, and I say to the cop, 'Did that person just get hit by a car?' '' said the worker, who identified himself only as Patrick, 32, of Brooklyn.

The two men raced over. ''Her arms were crushed,'' Patrick said. ``Her head was on the left side and blood was coming out in a pool.''

Police said there were no signs of a struggle in the one-bedroom apartment, where she lived for only two months. And the balcony from which she plunged had construction netting around it that appeared to have been deliberately ripped.

Korshunova, a green-eyed beauty, known as ''The Russian Rapunzel'' for her long, flowing chestnut locks, worked with the elite modeling agency IMG, which boasts top models Heidi Klum and Kate Moss.

''Our hearts are with her family,'' said IMG's representative, Zach Eichman.

The 5-foot-8 head-turner - just days from her 21st birthday - has been featured in ads for Marc Jacobs, DKNY, Vera Wang and Christian Dior. She was discovered in 2003 when a booker from London-based Models 1, Debbie Jones, noticed her in a feature about the model's hometown of Almaty, Kazakhstan.

''She looked like something out of a fairytale!'' Jones told British Vogue. Soon after, the 17-year-old beauty was hailed as the next big thing, gracing runways at Fashion Week wearing Jill Stuart, Betsey Johnson and other designers.

Her distraught ex-boyfriend, Artem Perchenok, 24, said that he dropped the model at her apartment at 5 a.m. after they watched the movie ``Ghost.''

''She was a good person,'' he told The Post, still reeling from the shock.

Friends broke the tragic news to Korshunova's mom, Valentina and brother Ruslan, who still live in Kazakhstan.

''[The mom] didn't believe it was real,'' one close friend told the Post via phone from Moscow, Russia.

Korshunova's best friend, Kira Titeneva broke down when she arrived at her pal's apartment late last night.

''We were talking on the phone last night,'' she said. ``She loved life so much. She was an angel.''

Titeneva, who grew up in her pal's hometown, said Korshunova ``wasn't wild. She was never on drugs or anything.''

Another friend said that Korshunova seemed to be ``on top of the world.''

''There were no signs,'' said the pal who did not want to be named. ``That's what's driving me crazy. I don't see one reason why she would do that.''

Link

 

[~Absynthe~]

She had so much going for her..it's really kinda sad!!!

 

[SoUncool]

I imagine being beautiful and "on top of the world" can be a bitch. All the pressure to be perfect, look perfect...

 

[~Absynthe~]

Korshunova's death declared a suicide

Monday, June 30, 2008
Fox News

NEW YORK — The Russian Vogue cover girl who plummeted from her ninth-floor Manhattan apartment on Saturday in a suicide plunge felt confused about the direction of her life and struggled with a stomach ailment in the days before her death, friends told the New York Post.

Ruslana Korshunova, a 20-year-old native of Kazakhstan, had lost a lot of weight in the last month and had trouble balancing her personal life and her demanding work schedule, her ex-boyfriend told the paper.

"I think she just gave up," said Artem Perchenok, 24, who was with Korshunova on the last night of her life.

Authorities officially declared Korshunova's death a suicide on Sunday

The 5-foot-8 stunner, who liked camping and fishing, kept her problems "bottled up," Perchenok told the Post.

"When a job would go bad, she'd take it out on herself," he said.

But her latest boyfriend, 32-year-old New Yorker Mark Kaminsky — who said he talked with Ruslana hours before her death — insisted the beauty was "liking what she did."

"She was a love for me," he told the Post, noting the first time he saw her he gushed: "I'm in shock over your beauty."

Korshunova, known for her flowing, Rapunzel-like tresses, was featured in ads for Marc Jacobs, DKNY and Vera Wang, and also made the cover of French Elle.

Before her death, Korshunova had a full schedule of high-profile modeling jobs in New York and had recently returned from Paris.

The model, a size 4, appeared to have dropped a lot of weight from her already thin frame and was complaining about a stomachache in the four or five days before her death.

And she told her manager "she didn't know what to do with her life," her ex told the Post.

In Kazakhstan, her mother said the suicide was "completely unexpected."

"She's had her ups and downs but never anything that would lead to suicide," she told the Post.

Korshunova was four days from her 21st birthday.

"When she had a conversation with my son, she said, 'I'm 21, so I feel sad.' She asked, 'Where am I going to celebrate?'" Nina Perchenok, Artem's mother, told the Post.

"She was lonely, it looked like," Perchenok said.

But her death — after spending the night watching the movie "Ghost" with her ex — was completely unexpected.

"I never heard of her being depressed. Maybe a year ago, when she wanted to change agencies," the mother told the Post. "But she would explain her problems. I can't understand why she wouldn't explain her problems [now]."

Korshunova left no note before she jumped.

One investigator told the Post they found several bottles of medication; the labels were in Russian.

British Vogue hailed Korshunova as "a face to be excited about" in 2005

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,373604,00.html

 

[Unamused Cat]

She could have at least traded bodies with me before she jumped.